As we prepare to see two rivals face off today in Boyds, there is an intriguing match-up in the semifinals, as we could see two locals face off. If you scroll to the bottom of that article, you'll see that Crystal Palace USA vs. D.C. United on July August 12 at RFK Stadium is a possibility -- provided both teams win. Crystal Palace will have to get through New England tonight.

A couple other links that caught my eye as I surfed the web this morning:

I'll be out at the SoccerPlex tonight for the game, and will try to get the game feed up sometime in the afternoon. One thing I'm excited to see tonight -- besides the obvious rivalry match-up -- is local product Mike Banner (Gonzaga, one year at Georgetown), who played in the same club, Team America Premier, as I played growing up. Banner scored twice for the Fire in their 4-1 victory over Cleveland City in third round of the Cup.

Hoping for a scrappy United win tonight!
What else would I be looking for tonight?
How bout a live video feed from Boyds?
I got a litttle spoiled watching the USL feeds last week, come to think of it, a feed of the Sounders/Wizards match would be nice too.
How's Benny?

It appears that this time around, the only English-language live coverage will be the Limarzi/WFED feed. Have they fixed the technical problems from last week that had people switching to the Rochester station? (The USOC site doesn't indicate that any Chicago-area station will be involved in tonight's affair.)

The Olympic regs state that the teams involved "shall send FIFA a provisional list of players (three of whom shall be goalkeepers) at least 30 days before the opening match of the final competition." Since the first men's games are on August 7, that would be today. That helps explain this flurry of news about Robinho, Ronaldinho, Messi, Riquelme, our old friend Ryan Nelsen, etc. However, the US Soccer site simply says that we will hear from Nowak in mid-July. Is it possible that US Soccer will submit a roster to FIFA, but choose not to make it public? There is a later deadline (July 23) to divvy up the squad into the first 18 and the four alternates, but I think the pool has to be cut down to 22 as of today.

It was great of Steinberg to research and write the tv ratings piece as a follow up to the huge argument that ensued after his blog about DC's Top Six Most Beloved Athletes. I think this article serves to resolve the false argument that soccer is just followed by a niche group and not as popular as baseball, hockey, and basketball.

Montgomery Co is full of Census-designated places, i.e. places that do not exist as a political entity but receive a name because of the convenience of data collection by the Census Bureau. These places include: Boyds, Germantown, Bethesda, and Silver Spring. Having no formal borders, it is impossible to tell where Germantown ends and Boyds begins. The Soccerplex in Boyds is located within the South Germantown Recreational Park. Have I confused you enough already? If not, I'll continue with North Potomac and North Bethesda.

On the importance of this game as compared to saturday's match against Chivas Guadalajara, I do think it's a close call, but I'm going to take the long view here and say the game against the Goats is more important. DC's long-term brand recognition is more important than getting into the Concacaf Champions cup this year. Chivas has beaten us multiple times in the last two years, that team has a huge following in Mexico and the USA, and if we can play well and win, it'll be very good for our reputation at home and abroad. We have another opportunity to get into the Concacaf Champions League via the MLS season & playoffs, but another loss to Chivas Guadalajara will confirm in the eyes of MANY that MLS sucks and United stinks.

Nice name, and yeah I totally agree. It's very important to beat Chivas. A big win (by more than a goal) would be great for our club. It would be sweet if we beat Chivas 3 or 4 to nil. Honestly, with the chemistry our attacking players are starting to display (and for that matter a more consistent backline) we have a shot at producing a great result on Saturday.

I'm a little late to the party here, but I have to say that Barca offer seems way under market. Look at Aston Villa, rejecting fifteen million pounds for Gareth Barry. Surely, Arshavin is worth more on the open market than Barry. Fifteen million Euros sounds like a lot of money, but I guess it really is a lowball offer in the 2008 market.